Rabbis fight Nissan same-sex couples ad

A group of religious Zionist rabbis are battling a series of new car advertisements featuring same-sex couples.

The ads, promoting car manufacturer Nissan’s new Sentra family model, were first published online and in Israeli newspapers over the weekend and show smiling families above the tag line, “Put your family in the Sentra.” One image shows two men embracing with their children, and another features two women.

The Hotam Forum, an umbrella group for religious research institutes in Israel, posted an image on Facebook Tuesday night with a stop sign and the words “In our family car there is a mother and a father” plastered over original ad.

A campaign poster for the Hotam forum opposing adverts by car manufacturer Nissan showing same-sex couples. The poster reads: “In our family car there is a mother and a father!” (Screen capture: Facebook)

The accompanying text rallies against Nissan for “interfering with the family” by trying to change its traditional definition.

“It seems to us you’re a bit confused and need to recalculate your route.” the goading message read. “It’s a great shame if a man decides to live with a man, or a woman decides to live with a woman.

“There is only one kind of family: a mother, a father, with shared children. That’s what a normal family looks like. That’s what a Jewish family looks like…you can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to reality.”

The group’s Facebook post was quickly inundated with angry comments.

“Only we will decided what a family is,” one poster wrote. “Well done Nissan.”

Another joked: “In ‘our’ family only dad can drive, because it’s not decent for women to have a license.”

One user posted photos of gay couples kissing, signing: “With lots of love!”

Niassan’s Facebook page features the photos and asks followers to post responses to the question, “How do you put the focus on the family?”